


Only One Thing More Delicious Than My Lasagna

by michebellaxo



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 12:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2310155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michebellaxo/pseuds/michebellaxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Granny gets injured at the diner, Regina is enlisted to help in the kitchen, since everyone knows she is an amazing cook, and her lasagna is second to no one's (except Granny's in the widow's opinion). A couple of days later, Emma is forced into a waitressing position when Ruby has to deal with wolfs time. The pair have been constantly at each other's throats since Emma brought back Marian. How will they deal with their new situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only One Thing More Delicious Than My Lasagna

It seemed like everyone in the town was running late to work that day. Everyone was stopping into Granny’s really quickly for their coffee or their breakfast—to go—and Ruby and Granny were hustling around the kitchen. Snow and David were sitting in a corner booth with Henry and Neal, while Emma ordered her coffee and grabbed a bear claw, letting Ruby know she’d be sitting with her family while the coffee was re-brewing. The waitress nodded at her, and when Regina walked in, both women looked to the door, Emma smiled softly, saddened by how tired Regina looked lately, and Ruby twisted her lips to the side, then offered the Mayor a smile.

“Good morning, Regina!” Ruby said brightly. Everything was less formal for everyone since Zelena had been defeated by Regina’s light magic and since everyone had gone back to daily routines of life. Regina had mostly forgiven Emma, but she was still weary about spending more time with her than necessary. The blonde was too blind to see why the mayor hated Hook so much, and why it hurt to see Emma with the pirate.

“Hi,” Emma said, offering a shy and awkward smile to her son’s other mom. “You… uh… Henry is all set to come over after school.”

“Thank you, Emma. You made sure his homework was finished? Or will he have a handful to finish while he’s over?”

“It’s finished, Regina,” Emma answered in an exasperated tone. “Anything not done will be something he gets today.”

“Very well.” Emma turned to go over to her parents and Regina followed, running her hand through Henry’s hair. “How are you, dear?” she asked, when he looked up at her.

“I’m good, mom. Excited to finish our project!”

“Me too, sweetheart.”

“What project is that?” Emma asked. Henry looked up at his brunette mother and she nodded, so he grinned.

“Mom’s giving me the guest room with the ensuite bathroom! We painted it, and then this week, we’re going to go pick out new stuff, since my old room was blue but my new one is green.”

“You don’t think that’s too much privacy, Regina?” his other mother asked.

“No. In fact, I think that he doesn’t have enough privacy. He’s living half of his time in an apartment with three adults and an infant. It’s time you get your own place so he can have a bedroom entirely to himself, he doesn’t need to share with his mother.”

“It’s not like we’re ever in there at the same time!”

“Perhaps not, but he still needs his own space. He’s almost a teenager.”

“And I’ll find a place. It isn’t my fault that you cursed the town with no vacancies!”

“Plenty of people have abandoned their cursed homes to live with their proper families! Go look at places. For goodness sake! I’ll look with you, just to get our son in his own bedroom!” The pair were nearly shouting at each other, but they heard a crash from the kitchen, and Emma jumped out of her seat, running to the kitchen of the diner, urged by Ruby’s screams. David was close behind her, but Snow was holding Neal and Regina was hugging Henry, assuring him that whatever was happening would turn out fine.

Nearly ten minutes passed when everyone heard the sirens of an ambulance and David was ushering people out of the back door while two medics were rolling in a gurney. Henry, Regina and Snow watched on as Emma tried to calm Ruby and David was doing his best to assess the damage to the kitchen, thankful to find there wasn’t much. The young werewolf handed her keys off to the sheriff and left with the ambulance, promising to update them.

“What happened?” Henry asked eagerly, his green eyes following his blonde mother as she turned around to look at him.

“Granny was reaching up to get something and somehow she got pulled down and her arm landed on the grill in the back and it looks like she’s very burned.”

“Is she going to be okay?” he asked, his voice worried.

“Well, why don’t we all work at getting everything here cleaned and closed up and we’ll go check on her after?” Everyone agreed, though Snow sat out, holding Neal in one of the booths. Regina had Henry on easy stuff, like cleaning the front of the diner, tables, sweeping and such, things that wouldn’t put him near danger.

Emma was surprised at how good of a cleaner he was, though she knew he would have had chores while living with Regina, and would have learned well how to keep things clean and tidy. Henry’s two mothers worked in the kitchen, scrubbing dishes and shutting down everything that cooked food, scrubbing the floors and doing everything they could to prepare the place to be left for an undetermined amount of time. David closed all the umbrellas and put up the chairs in the outside sitting area and when all of them were done working, nearly two hours had passed.

David told Emma he would meet her at the hospital after taking Snow and Neal home, and Regina informed the sheriff she would be there shortly after taking Henry to school for the second half of his day. The brunet boy didn’t go willingly, and he made Regina promise to call the school and let him know if anything was seriously wrong with Granny.

Finally, everyone was in the waiting room at the hospital when Ruby came out, thankfully, looking relieved. “She has a bad burn on her arm and Dr. Whale said she can’t do anything for at least a week,” she informed them, hugging David back in his offered embrace.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Emma asked. “It’s not like she’s going to relax willingly or eagerly.”

“Know anyone that has mad cooking skills and can make an amazing lasagna?” Ruby teased. Both David and Emma looked at Regina with matching smirks.

“Oh no. No. Absolutely not!” Regina protested, knowing where both blondes were headed.

“You love cooking! And you easily make the best lasagna I’ve ever had,” David countered.

“The fact that I am good at cooking and enjoy doing it, does not mean that I would enjoy working there, cooking for the people of this town that barely tolerate the fact that I still live here and am still mayor. Besides, I still have to be mayor.”

“Regina, you can give up mayoral duties for one week,” Emma argued, though the thoughts running through her mind were no longer about Granny’s diner, but when David had tasted Regina’s lasagna. She knew for a fact that he hadn’t tried it at the welcome home party when she and Snow had gotten back from the Enchanted Forest.

“Sure, says the woman who doesn’t perform half her proper duties anyway,” Regina bit back.

“C’mon, Regina. Granny needs us. Think of what state they’d be in if she has to shut down for the whole week!”

“Who works when Granny doesn’t?” Regina asked, directing her question to Ruby.

“Well, Jake, but he’s the kitchen guy at night. We still need him for the dinner and evening shift. I mean… we’d just need help from like, five to two. He’d probably be willing to come in early, after the lunch rush, and work until close,” Ruby explained, looking at Regina with widened eyes. “Please? I would owe you forever.”  
Regina looked at the three people around her and shook her head. Nodding slowly, she massaged her temples with her thumb and index finger on one hand. “Fine. But yes, you owe me. And… I refuse to serve frozen lasagna. I’ll make my own.”

“Thank you, so much!” the waitress cried, throwing her arms around the mayor’s shoulders. Awkwardly half returning the hug, Regina pat the other woman’s back gently twice before pulling out of the hug. She had a feeling she would regret this.

Everyone there visited Granny for a long while, taking turns since Dr. Whale had instructed that no more than one visitor at a time should be allowed. When it was Regina’s turn, she slowly walked into the hospital room, just waiting to see the scowl and hear the grumbles of reluctant agreement about her running the kitchen for the older woman while she was away.

After closing the door behind her, she turned toward Granny’s bed and took a seat in the stiff chair next to the innkeeper. Old eyes watched her closely and Regina sighed softly, resigning herself to the fact that there would always be people that didn’t forgive her, would never forgive her and would never believe that she could and had changed.

“Regina,” Granny said gruffly. “I appreciate that you’re willing to run my kitchen. And you’ll be paid accordingly.” Her face was void of emotion, completely unreadable.  
Regina nodded slowly, saying, “Well, your granddaughter is quite persuasive. Besides, Henry would want it.”

“Right then. Well, you can find instructions on how I make everything in a book on the office desk. Inventory is on Tuesday nights, so you’ll need to key all that in on Wednesday morning, but they’ll do the counting after close Tuesday. I’m assuming you don’t need to be told how to do such things, since you’re the mayor and all,” Granny said, looking to Regina. The brunette nodded and raised her eyebrows, prompting the older woman to continue.

“I’m sorry to tell you that I’m usually there an hour early on Thursdays because the order needs to be put away. Ruby usually helps, but since it’s likely she’ll be working later shifts to help with the afternoon, since I won’t be there, you may have to do it yourself.”

“I can do that.”

“I assumed you could. If an old grandmother like me can do it, there’s nothing stopping me from believing you could. If you have any questions, Ruby can answer them, or you can call and ask me.”

“Is there anything that will need to be done for the Inn?” Regina asked. So far, the entire conversation had been pretty neutral, neither woman letting on how they felt about the other. In all honesty, Regina respected Granny. She hadn’t known much about her story before the curse broke, but she respected how the other woman protected her granddaughter with a vengeance, even to the point of putting her own life in danger.

“The books need to be kept, but other than that, it should all be fine. You could probably take care of the numbers during the downtime after breakfast, they’re pretty easy since the only people who are currently staying are Hook and Robin and his family.”

Regina stiffened immediately at the mention of Robin and his family. That hurt. It had been a couple of months, and things were starting to hurt less, and she knew much of that was due to the fact that most of her relationship with him was spent without her heart. But she had… they had slept together and that was after she got her heart back and she’d let herself open her heart to him while they were together. She’d stupidly taken Snow White’s advice and let herself see what had been in front of her, and when she did, she lost it. Just like she lost everything. Except Henry. He was, and would likely remain, the only person she would have and love forever.

“Sorry, Regina. I didn’t mean to bring him up…” Granny started, but stopped when Regina shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I’m assuming they’re in in the mornings for breakfast?”

“They are. Usually around nine, after the biggest rush.”

“Good to know. And… the pirate?” she snarled.

“Usually he doesn’t make it in until after ten.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course,” Granny answered, tilting her head as she studied the mayor. She saw what others didn’t see. She’d seen it long before even Snow had. The lingering looks and the wide eyes and hurt expressions that were given when Emma didn’t believe in her, none of them had gone unnoticed by the older woman. Regina had been in love with Emma for a long time, but Granny didn’t know if even the mayor knew that herself.

“Well, if that’s all I need to know, I should be going. I want to be home when Henry gets out of school and I’d like to gather the recipe books from the diner before then. Hopefully it’ll be decently easy for me to catch on after a read-through.”

“Thanks again,” Granny said. Her tone still wasn’t budging from cordial, but she respected the woman, had since she’d seen her really start changing when everyone’s lives were in danger of Storybrooke being destroyed from the trigger. She’d seen her mother Henry during the curse, seen her raise him and gonfrom a cold person to someone who still wasn’t warm to others, but was warm to her son. Remembering when she gave advice to Regina about telling them stories, Granny recalled how much love the brunette offered her son, even if it wasn’t always the best type of love to give. She’d changed, and the older woman was willing to give her further chance to prove herself, though she didn’t really need to anymore, not as long as she didn’t go back to the dark side.

Regina went to gather the keys from Emma, who was now joined by Hook, and the couple stood in the waiting room with David and Ruby. Putting on her cold exterior, she walked up to the group and told Emma what she needed, though the blonde was hesitant to give them to her.

“Unless you would like to meet me at the café at five to unlock it for me, give me the damn keys, Miss Swan. I need to go and get Granny’s recipes before I pick Henry up from school. Now kindly,” she growled, holding her hand out, palm flat and open for the ring of keys.

“Alright. Well… uh, have fun with Henry and I’ll see you in the morning,” Emma said, pulling the keys out of her coat pocket and dropping them into Regina’s red leather gloved hand.

“Right. Whenever you can…” Regina paused, looking over Hook with a snarl on her lips, “Roll yourself out of his filthy bed.”

“Regina!” Emma said, her voice tight and her face turning pink. Ruby was laughing, a wide grin spread over her face. She knew what the mayor’s problem was; she could smell the pheromones that came off the woman when she was around Emma. The sheriff’s horrified look was priceless, and the awkward shifting that David was doing wasn’t helping her stop laughing, either.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a shopping date with our son this evening that I intend to not miss.”

“We still need to talk about the bedroom thing, Regina.”

“You can discuss his bedroom situation with me when he has his own at your place. Somewhere in a bed that I don’t have to worry about a filthy pirate having slept in,” she spat, turning and walking away from the group.

Sliding into her car, Regina relaxed against the leather, eyes closed as she exhaled a heavy breath. She let out a low growl, trying to release some of the negative feelings from her body, and then she started her car and headed to the diner.

She slid in inconspicuously through the front, locking the door behind her. Heading for the office, Regina found the book she needed and flipped through the pages, relieved to know that most of it was easy and basic, except for the lunch meals, and it was more knowing what ingredients were included for each plate than it was learning how to prepare anything. She knew it would be easy enough for her to catch on to. Regina printed out a quick sign for the front door, informing the town that the restaurant was closed for the day, but would reopen at the normal time of six the next morning. Checking the clock on the wall and seeing that it was almost three, Regina left the diner, locking the door back up and headed to Henry’s school.

She parked out front and waited in her usual spot. It was nice having him so willing to spend time with her again. It was her favorite part about their year apart; he had a new appreciation for her as his mother, and she had a new respect for his relationship with Emma, no matter how it may hurt her that she wasn’t the only parent in his life. Regina had grown; she could respect the ability to love many people without it being divided, as she had once believed.

Henry hurried to her car, opening the passenger door and tossing his backpack into the back seat. “Is Granny okay?” he asked, his voice a mix of worried and eager.

“Yes, darling. Granny will be fine. She has a burn and she needs to be out of work for at least a week,” Regina informed. “But she’ll be just fine.”

“But what about Granny’s! Where am I going to get my milkshakes?” he joked.

“Actually, dear, Ruby asked me to work there from five to two for the week, while Granny can’t be there. You can have breakfast at the diner every morning, but you’ll need to get yourself up for school on time and get to the diner yourself, but I’ll make you breakfast each morning. I suppose if you need, Emma can come pick you up to take you to the diner.”

“Mom, seriously. I’m almost thirteen and everyone in town loves me, no one is going to hurt me while I walk to the diner,” Henry said, feigning exasperation and offering his mother an eye roll.

“Your eyes are going to get stuck in the back of your head if you keep doing that.”

“Oh? Is that how you learned your lesson?” he teased, a smirk, much like the one she often offered, played at his lips.

Raising her eyebrows, Regina shook her head and put the car in gear. “Shall we go get you some things?” Henry nodded eagerly, excited to finish putting the rest of his room together so he could sleep in it by the end of the week.

Regina drove out of town, the roads memorized from her late night drives that she started taking to help her forget. Just short of an hour and a half out of town was a store that had just about everything they would want. They walked into the big building, grabbed a red cart and wandered around. Henry picked out a new bed sheet set and duvet for his new full sized bed. Regina picked out chocolate and olive colored towels for his bathroom, and filled the cart with many necessities, a shower curtain, bathroom rugs, a foam mat for outside the shower, and many other things that would be required to finish his room.They stopped at an Italian restaurant on their way home and Henry told her of his week with Emma and his grandparents while they ate. Regina allowed him dessert and smiled softly as she watched him enjoy himself.

 

“Do you have any homework tonight?” she asked. They were waiting for the check and she was making easy conversation.

 

“Nope. I have a quiz in math tomorrow, but I should be able to get a good grade since I’ve been doing well on all the homework.”

“That’s my boy,” Regina said proudly. “You’re turning out exactly how I always imagined.”

“What do you mean?”

The waiter came and took her money, leaving them alone once more. And Regina pondered how to answer him. “You’re a good young man, kind and smart and witty. I’m very proud of you.”

“You raised me. You should be proud of yourself, then, too,” he said honestly.

Regina smiled softly. “I love you, my darling.”

“Love you too, mom.” And Regina smiled at the words. He had said them plenty of times since Zelena was defeated, likely knowing that she needed to hear them. Most boys his age, in this world, wouldn’t so willingly admit their love for their mothers in public. He was different, though, always would be, with the heart of the truest believer beating in his chest.

Regina had often wondered if Henry’s heart being that way was because he was the Savior’s child, or if it was a combination of being Emma’s son and the grandson of the True Love couple whose love could break the curse. She shook the thought off, not really caring, and the two made their way back out to the car, very full and sleepy from their busy afternoon and evening.

When they arrived at the mansion, Henry was far too tired to put his room together, instead getting himself ready for bed and bidding goodnight to his mother. Regina shut off most of the lights in the house, isolating herself into her study with a glass of wine and the book of Granny’s recipes. She read through the breakfast and lunch menus completely through before she realized that it was nearing two o’clock and morning would come quickly. Heading to her room, she readied herself for bed and slid beneath the duvet, tossing and turning as usual.

 

When Regina’s alarm went off at four, she slapped the buzzing button and pushed herself up, heading into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Searching through her closet, she tried to find an outfit that she didn’t care much for and wouldn’t mind ruining. Finally, she settled on some black leather, flat-heeled boots, blue jeans and a crisp gray button up. After she was ready, she headed to the diner, the roads empty, as empty as they were when she was usually on her way back into town from her late night drives.

She let herself in and began following the prep list that she found on a clipboard in the kitchen. Regina found a black apron in the office and slid it over her neck, tying it tightly around her waist as she double-checked and triple checked that everything was prepared. Starting the coffee, Regina sat down at the bar and waited for a few minutes to pass while she signed off on the prep list. She heard the back door and assumed it was Ruby arriving a little early to help her with opening. Sure enough, the werewolf made her appearance a moment later and Regina offered her a sleepy nod.

“Not a morning person, either?” Ruby asked. “I would have suspected you were pleasant and awake in the mornings.”

“I used to be. Also, seven is a lot prettier to wake up to than four is.”

Chuckling, Ruby nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably true.”

“Want to check if I missed anything?” Regina asked. The waitress nodded and made her way through the kitchen, checking that everything was turned on and ready to go.

When she was satisfied, she told Regina that it all looked correct and she started her own early tasks making sure the front of the diner was properly stocked.  
“You guys did an awesome job closing up for us yesterday.”

“Well, there were a lot of us and Henry was excited to help with stocking the tables.”

“He’s a pretty cool kid.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“Yeah.” Ruby still wasn’t completely comfortable with the mayor, but she could tell the woman was sad and lonely, and it made her want to be friends with her, or at least be nice to her. Besides, Snow and Charming were trying to be friends with the woman; it couldn’t possibly hurt her to do the same. Especially after she lost yet another person that she believed would be her happy ending. The werewolf couldn’t imagine losing two loves in one lifetime, losing Peter, just one, had been enough for her.

The two sat in companionable silence for the rest of the smaller part of the hour while they waited for things to finish heating up. Both were drinking coffee, trying to give themselves the boost to wake up. Once six hit, Regina pulled the sign off the window while Ruby turned on all the lights. The mayor was very thankful that people didn’t come in immediately, only a couple of people here and there for coffee and a pastry that didn’t need to be cooked.

Snow and David made it in with Neal at 7:15, the time that had become their usual. Henry followed shortly after and pushed the door open to greet his mother for the morning. He then headed to the booth his grandparents sat in and joined them. The rush kept them busy, but it wasn’t as bad as Regina would have imagined, and she figured that word got around town that she was the one running the kitchen. There were probably still some people in the town that didn’t trust her, or at least felt uneasy about her preparing their food.

She saw Henry leave with his grandparents, through the kitchen window. Making the assumption that they were walking him to school, she relaxed. Regina knew that there wasn’t anyone in town that she believed would cause harm to her son, not anymore, anyway, but she would always worry about his safety. Just after eight, she looked up and saw Robin walk through the back entrance, one hand on Marian’s lower back and the other on the top of Roland’s head. She watched as he directed them to a booth, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Regina had done a very good job avoiding him since he’d chosen to stay with his wife. It wasn’t that she’d thought he shouldn’t, because realistically, if Daniel had come back from the dead, she would have chosen him. It was that he was the first person she’d slept with that she had legitimate personal and intimate feelings for, she’d given part of herself to him, only to lose it.

Not realizing she was still staring until she heard Ruby clear her throat, she flickered her eyes over to the waitress. The other brunette handed an order slip to her and Regina’s eyes shot once more to Robin’s, this time begin caught by his piercing blue eyes. Gasping, she dropped her eyes down and busied herself in an attempt to make it look like a coincidence, but she knew that wasn’t working. Hurriedly, she began working on the ticket she’d just been given and she made her way through the order in a matter of minutes, it being an easy breakfast dish.

Sending the order out to Ruby, Regina began washing dishes while she didn’t have any orders. There was no more contact with Robin that morning, just gut clenching pain that she let herself feel, bending over and vomiting into a garbage can from the nerves that were shooting through her stomach. As her head was buried between the sides of the plastic bagged, black garbage can, Emma walked into the kitchen.

“God, Regina! Are you alright?” she asked, rushing over to help the brunette.

Composing herself and wiping the back of her hand across her lips, Regina scowled at the other woman. “I’m fine. Thank you for your concern, but I don’t need you to rescue me.”

“The past has shown differently,” Emma countered.

“Yes, well, I don’t need you to be my savior anymore.”

“Regina… seriously, are you sick?”

“No, I am simply on a medication that makes me nauseated. I’m fine. Feel free to continue not caring.”

“Fine! You know what? I’m tired of giving a shit about you,” Emma snapped, leaving the kitchen and leaving Regina to rest her hands against the edge of the sink, her eyes closing and her stomach rolling again. Sighing, she turned to the hand sink and washed her face and hands quickly. She then mentally readied herself to finish her day. The rest of her shift finished out easily, and she found the time to mark the Inn’s books before she left at two.

She was cleaned and changed out of her clothing by time Henry got home from school that afternoon and he chattered easily about his day of school. He mentioned a couple of kids that he hung out with during lunch and she wondered if he would ever hang out with any of them outside of school, if he would have sleepovers or a girlfriend or if he did and it just wasn’t while he was at her house.

He worked on his homework while she made dinner, and he asked her how it was working at the diner. Regina had left out the worst, telling him that it wasn’t bad at all and she didn’t have anyone complain about their food, which she was pleased to find. Setting him to work on vacuuming his new bedroom, Regina started his new towels and sheets in the washing machine. They emptied, moved and refilled one of his graphic novel bookcases over to his new room.

Henry looked around excitedly as Regina sat on the edge of his bed. He pointed out everywhere that he wanted his various things to go, and she couldn’t help but chuckle at how much organization he’d gotten from her.

“Darling, I’m afraid that it is time for bed. Get some rest and we’ll do more tomorrow. I’ll even order pizza if you don’t have much homework so that we can spend extra time setting up.”

“Awesome. Thanks mom. Night,” he answered, hugging her easily and following her out of his new bedroom so he could get ready for bed and sleep in his old bed, for hopefully the last time.

Regina made her way back downstairs and she cleaned up the dishes from dinner. After making sure the kitchen was immaculate, she headed to her study for a nightcap. Pouring a double of amber liquid into her tumbler, she knocked it back as she looked around the room. It was the room where she’d held her first legitimate conversation with Emma. It was the room where she’d first realized she was in love with the other woman. It was the room she’d first thought for a moment that Robin would be the person she would be with, he would be the man who would save her from certain pain related to loving her son’s other mother. And it was the room when that thought was crushed with Robin’s admittance that he was still in love with his wife and he would be choosing her and not Regina.

Cradling the glass to her chest, Regina closed her eyes and leaned against one of the tall bookcases that covered the walls. She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts of the infuriating woman and the filthy pirate who warmed her bed at night. Regina stood up straight and threw her empty glass against the opposite wall, though it slammed against hard bound books, it bounced and landed softly on the carpet, not even breaking. Sighing, she moved to pick it up off the floor and headed to upstairs to bed.

The next day passed slower than the previous. She had to enter the inventory numbers into the computer before they finished opening, though Ruby had shown up to help her with opening tasks so that she could do so. Her eyes were darker than usual, as were the circles beneath them, though she’d used a healthy amount of makeup in an attempt to cover them. Before they even opened, Regina had made her way through three cups of coffee.

Henry met his grandparents again, sitting in the same booth and eating breakfast with them as Regina watched in pleasure at his happiness. He said goodbye and she was finally waking up, a second wind hitting her despite the lack of sleep she was getting.

It was the same thing when Robin came in with his family, though this time, when she caught his eyes and looked away, she’d then caught Marian’s glare and a shiver ran down her spine at the hate directed toward her. She knew in the past she’d intended to kill the woman, but the past was changed, and she clearly hadn’t, so the hate was exhausting.

Emma sat at the counter when she came in, Hook by her side. Regina snarled and groaned to herself at their appearance in the diner, together, sitting so cozily. When their orders came back, she bitterly cooked them, purposefully burning Hook’s hash browns, bacon and toast and leaving his eggs runnier than his preference. She cooked Emma’s food perfectly, smirking to herself despite knowing that her behavior was childish.

Emma came back to the kitchen when she saw her boyfriend’s meal, barging in and yelling at Regina, asking what her problem was.

“Whatever do you mean?” Regina asked, a smirk playing on her lips.

“You know what I mean! Why did you ruin his food? You know we’re just going to send it back and you’ll have to remake it.”

“Perhaps you should find somewhere else to eat your breakfast while Granny is out of commission.”

“Why? What did he ever do to make you hate him so much?”

“Why does he deserve happiness when he’s as much of a villain as I?” she shouted. Once the words were out of her mouth, her eyes widened and she shot a hand up, covering her lips.

“What the hell? So what, you can’t be happy because you’re miserable and uptight, so no one deserves to be happy?”

“You! You ruined my chance. First it was your mother, then you and now I am alone once more. You and the one-handed wonder have each other and I am, once again, alone! Tell me where the justice is?”

“Grow up! You’re acting like a child who isn’t getting what she wants!” Emma shouted back, her voice darker than Regina had ever heard it before.

“You grow up! You can’t even go get a place of your own! You’re forcing my son into your bedroom while you sleep on a couch during his weeks there!”

“Goddammit Regina, that’s none of your business!”

“My son is absolutely my business!”

“He is our son!” Emma growled, causing Regina to back up two steps and turn away.

“Fine. You do as you want with your pathetic little life and I’ll just continue watching as you spend your days with a filthy, greedy, cheating and lying pirate,” Regina relented, her eyes shifting and her voice lowering.

“Why does it even matter to you?” Emma asked, her voice softening as well.

“Because I don’t want someone like that helping to raise Henry! I don’t want him having any kind of influence on the kind of man that he becomes.”

“Right, this coming from you,” the blonde scoffed, shaking her head.

Regina’s eyes darkened further and her nostrils flared. She advanced on Emma, backing her into the corner of the kitchen. “And just what do you mean by that?”

“What could he possibly learn from a pirate that he couldn’t learn from the Evil Queen?” Emma growled. Regina reared her hand back, bringing it forward and smacking it hard against a pale cheek. Ruby, who had witnessed the entire argument, gasped and hurried back into the kitchen, pushing the women apart right before Emma went at Regina.

“Emma, that was petty!” Ruby scolded, earning a smirk from Regina before she turned to the other brunette. “And you! Slapping? Unacceptable! Go remake Hook’s breakfast, and I’m calling Jake in early. You’ll leave when he gets here and calm down.” Regina dropped her gaze and nodded, knowing she had just taken a step back in proving to everyone that her change for the better was not a temporary thing. She went to the flat metal grill and began recooking the pirate’s meal, watching as Ruby spoke in hushed tones with Emma.

 

Jake made it in less than half an hour later and Regina looked at the time, noticing that she had a few hours before Henry would be out of school. She slid into her car and drove, leaving town and following the streets that would never be unburned from her mind. Her phone rang, but when she saw that it wasn’t Henry, nor was it the school, she ignored it.

 

Emma went to her parent’s loft after her meal with Hook, unpleased with herself and with Regina for the time being. David was at the station, but she knew her mother would be home. Finding her in the living room, resting her eyes as she sat on the couch, Emma sat down beside her.

“Where’s Neal?” she asked.

“Sleeping.”

“Can I talk to you?”

Snow sat up quickly, nodding and patting Emma’s hand with one of her own. “You can always talk to me, Emma. That’s what I’m here for.”

“I called Regina the Evil Queen today and may have implied that she’s still a villain.”

“Oh, Emma!” her mother gasped, a sad look in her eyes for her former step mother.

“Yeah, I feel really bad about it, but she was being childish and being unnecessarily mean to Hook, and it pissed me off. She’s always rude to him and I’m trying to be happy, and she and I were just becoming friends and I can’t be friends with her if she’s constantly going to cut down my boyfriend.”

“Can I… can I ask you a few questions?” Snow asked hesitantly.

“What do you mean? Like what?”

“Well, for starters… why are you with Hook?”

“I… he… he loves me, and he’s… I don’t know, he’s nice to me, he wants me.”

“So… are you with him because he wants you and he loves you, and he’s nice to you, or do you love him, want him and desire a good relationship with him?”

“Feelings take time.”

“Of course they do. But it’s been a couple of months, and he was pursuing you a long time before that.”

“What’s your point?” she snapped, then grimaced and looked at her mother apologetically.

“I’m just saying that I think you’re dating Hook because it’s easy and he’s there and you aren’t afraid of him hurting you.”

“So? What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, except that you don’t seem to feel anything for him, and I know you have feelings for someone else, someone who has loved you a long time.”

“Well, yeah, Neal’s dead, though.”

“Emma, you know that he isn’t who I was referring to.”

The sheriff sat for a moment and thought, her mind flitting over all of the possibilities for whom her mother could possibly be talking about. “I’m sorry, I really don’t know who you mean.”

“You do, and you’ll recognize it someday. Just… don’t let that day come too late.”

“What was your other question?”

“It was more a piece of advice.”

“Yeah? Well?”

“I think you need to find Regina and apologize.”

“No.”

“Emma… you know that you need to. What you said wasn’t fair to her, no matter the circumstances, and you need to go make it better.” When her daughter sighed and shrugged, Snow said, “How would you feel if it got back to Henry what you said to Regina?”

“Fine.”

That night, after Regina and Henry had made his new bed with his new, freshly washed sheets, and set up his bathroom, they said goodnight and he eagerly went to sleep on his new mattress for the first time. Regina was pleased with herself for bringing him so much happiness. She was on her way down to clean up their mess from the pizza they had for dinner when she heard a soft knock at the door. Opening the barrier, she saw Emma standing in front of her, hands in her pockets and head bowed slightly.

“Miss Swan,” she said coldly.

“Regina… can you please quit with the ‘Miss Swan’ thing?”

“No. I’m sorry I’m not on a first name basis with anyone who calls me the Evil Queen still, after all this time.”

“Please? Can we talk?” Emma asked softly.

Regina nodded after deliberation and stepped aside, letting the blonde pass her through the doorway. Shutting the door, she led the other woman into her study, filling one tumbler with apple cider and offering Emma one as well. When she nodded, Regina filled another and handed it to her.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“I… I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you that. I-I know you aren’t her.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Like I said, I know that. I feel really bad that I hurt you. I know that was what I was aiming for when I said it, but that wasn’t fair to you and I should have acted more maturely.”

Regina offered a curt nod and turned away. “I suppose that I shouldn’t have acted as immaturely as I did, either.”

“Can… Will you talk to me about Robin?”

“What?” Regina growled, turning around and glaring at the sheriff. “No.”

“Why not? I just… I want to know what part hurt you so much. I’m trying to figure things out and I just want to know.”

“Get out. Now!” Regina shouted, and then lowered her voice so as not to wake Henry. “Please leave, Emma. I am not discussing this with you.”

Nodding reluctantly, the other woman set down her glass and turned to leave, pausing at the door before exiting. “Regina… I’m truly sorry. Both for the Robin situation and for calling you the Evil Queen. I shouldn’t have and I am very sorry. Please… just, try to forgive me.”

Regina watched as the woman left, then she set down her still full tumbler and made her way up to bed.

The next day passed awkwardly. Emma was quiet and she avoided Hook, watching Regina every time she went to the diner, having taken more trips than really necessary, and thinking of the other woman when she wasn't watching her. She spent the day worrying about her feelings, wondering if this underlying care, this constant need to protect Regina... if that was really love. She supposed one would do things like that for the person they loved.

Sitting in the station, Emma was distracted. It took David saying her name four times before she'd finally acknowledged that he was speaking.

"Sorry, dad, what?" she asked.

"I asked you if you're okay. You don't seem to be... you just seem off today."

"Yeah. Hey, let me ask you something. If I wasn't dating Hook, is there anyone in town that you'd think I was dating?"

"What?" he asked, legitimately confused.

"Well, like, is there anyone else I seem to care about keeping safe?"

"You keep everyone safe, Emma."

"Yeah."

"Let me ask you a question," he started. He'd finally caught on, putting the pieces together as he remembered the information Snow had given him the day before. "If you were with Henry, shopping or something, and the only person who was around was the store keeper and there was an earthquake, who would your mind worry about first, knowing Henry was safe and with you?"

Emma blushed. "Uh... Regina."

"Okay," he said, nodding. "Is that just because you don't want Henry to lose his mom?"

"I... uh... I don't know."

"Let me change the question then. If you had five minutes before you died, and you could only see two people to say goodbye, who would those people be."

Dropping her head against her desk, Emma groaned. She sighed, her breath covering a small part of the desk in heated moisture. "Oh my god, dad."

"Yeah Emma?" he asked, thinking they'd gotten through to her.

"I'm in love with Regina."

"Yes."

"But... what if she doesn't love me?"

"If you believe that, then you see a lot less than the rest of us do."

"You really think she does?"

"Why do you honestly think Hook is the only person she's truly mean to anymore? Why do you think that if he's coming out with us, she doesn't?" David prompted.

"I just thought... I don't know, because of the backstabbing and stuff. I thought maybe she hated him because of who he is.”

“Emma… Regina doesn’t hate anyone just because of who they are… except for Snow for that time. Regina has been judged too harshly based on her past, on her actions, she isn’t one that isn’t going to let someone try to redeem themselves, unless she has a personal reason.”

“Me? You think I’m her reason for still hating Hook?”

“Emma… you have to see it. Your mom has been seeing it for a long time. I didn’t see it until… uh, when we were fighting Zelena, but Snow saw it when you guys got back from the Enchanted Forest.”

Their conversation was interrupted when the station phone rang. David answered it and gave Emma a worried look as he listened to the other end of the conversation. Once he dropped the phone back to its cradle, he began pulling on his gear.

“Something happened with Ruby, we need to get to Granny’s.” Emma jumped up at his words and they hurried to the diner. Once there, they found that the waitress was on the floor, writhing in pain and whimpering, her body shaking and Regina was trying to keep everyone away from her, trying to keep the werewolf safe. David carried her out to the cruiser, laying her across the backseat and taking her to the hospital, promising to update Emma once he could.

“Looks like I need a waitress, Miss Swan,” Regina said, raising an eyebrow and pasting a fake smile on her mouth. She walked around the corner and grabbed one of the small white aprons and held it out toward Emma. “Don’t mess up too much.” With her words, she turned and headed back to the kitchen while she waited for Emma to catch up. Finally, the blonde burst through the kitchen door.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Emma asked.

“Well, I need someone to wait tables. I certainly can’t do it myself.”

“I’m not a waitress!”

“And I’m not a diner cook,” Regina answered smugly. “Yet here I am, helping out, because the town needed it, and Granny needed it. You think she’d be pleased to hear that her restaurant could survive without her but shut down at the loss of her head waitress? Now put the apron on and go help the people who don’ t have food in front of them.” She was going to enjoy this.

The next couple of hours were filled with awkward communication. Emma was uncertain how to act around the brunette now that she realized that she had feelings for her, and she didn’t know what to think about whether or not Regina returned those feelings. Her mother and father seemed certain that she did, and Emma supposed that it would explain certain events, but she just couldn’t imagine loving her. Not when their entire relationship had been spent fighting over Henry. Well… not their entire relationship, but most of it.

After the diner was empty, Regina tried to take care of the books for the Inn, sitting at a booth while nobody was coming around. The only people that came in wanted coffee or some other beverage. Emma slid into the booth across from her as she recorded the numbers from Robin’s stay and Hook’s stay.

“Regina… can we talk?”

“Whatever about, Miss Swan?” she asked, not even bothering to look up from the binder in front of her.

“I just wanted to apologize again. And… to add an apology for being inappropriate when I asked you about Robin.”

“I don’t care. Honestly… I’m just tired of it.”

“Tired of what?”

“This back and forth arguing with you. We agree on nothing, especially when it comes to parenting Henry. I’m just done dealing with you.”

“Regina…” Emma started, her voice cracking slightly. It was in that moment that Hook came down from the Inn, entering the diner through the back.

“Emma, love, want to get dinner tonight?”

Emma looked up as Regina let out an undignified snort and slid out of the booth, moving to the office.

“No, Hook, I don’t want to get dinner.”

“Ever since your argument with Regina yesterday, you’ve been avoiding me, Emma. Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” she answered, her tone clipped.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Hook.”

“Is it Regina?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter.”

“It does. It matters very much. You… you never loved me did you?” he asked, his tone sad and annoyed. Emma shook her head crisply.

“No. There was never a chance of it. I’ve been in love a long, long time and it isn’t with you.”

“Are you going to start dating her then?” he growled, scowling as he said ‘her.’

Emma dropped her head and sighed. “I don’t know, but it isn’t your business anymore.

“She’s only going to hurt you.”

“Yeah. I know that’s likely. It doesn’t change. I can’t love you. I tried, and it is only causing dissatisfaction for all parties involved. Hook… I’m sorry. You should… you should probably go.” He shook his head and bit his tongue, turning to leave the diner. Emma waited a few minutes to make sure no one was going to come in. She then changed the open sign to show that they would be back in ten minutes and she locked the door. Heading into the office, Emma found Regina sitting at the desk, head in her hands and on the edge of sleep.

“Regina?” she said softly. “Are you alright?”

It took a moment before Regina turned around, but she did and she closed her eyes for a long moment before looking up at Emma. “Why wouldn’t I be alright, Emma?” she asked, her tone resigned and almost sounding like she was… defeated.

“You look like you haven’t slept since… Zelena. And you… I… usually we at least argue. Now you won’t even look at me without like, flinching or looking like I’m stabbing you over and over.”

“Eloquent.”

“Regina, please… what can I do?”

“You can find out what’s going on with Ruby and we’ll discuss this when it matters, which is not right now.” The brunette stood and walked past Emma, heading to the front of the diner and unlocking the door, switching the sign back to ‘open.’  
Emma found out that Ruby was avoiding her wolfs time in order to stay at the restaurant, since she was unable to find a replacement waitress. Granny’s advice to Ruby was to change completely, and not change back, for two days, for the rest of wolfs time. Emma told the werewolf to do it, that she would take over waitressing in the mornings, working the same shift as Regina.

“Ruby…” Emma said quietly into the phone, wanting to be certain Regina didn’t hear her.

“Yeah?”

“I… so you know I care about her, and you’ve been letting me date Hook?”

The werewolf laughed hard into the phone. “Yeah.”

“How do I get her to listen to me? She’s mad… really mad.”

“Regina likes pretty things, Emma.”

“I don’t know what that means? I get her a gift? I… I don’t know.”

“Nope. Emma… you’re pretty. Just… make her notice you.”

“Using my looks?”

“Did you not tell me a story of you doing it in the past with Hook?”

Emma grumbled off the phone, wishing the other woman well and that she’d see her in a couple of days. After the phone was hung up, she turned toward Regina and sat down across from her again.

“It was a wolfs time issue… so… it looks like I’m going to be your morning help for a couple of days.”

“And your drooling pirate. Will he be here to annoy the entire time?”

“I broke up with him,” Emma answered casually, but Regina’s head snapped up and her chocolate eyes searched green for a lie.

“Why is that?”

The blonde shrugged, sighing softly. “I just realized that it wasn’t going to go anywhere. I don’t love him. I could never love him, and I realized there was no point in forcing something that wasn’t going to go anywhere.”

“I see.” Regina didn’t say anything else, leaving it at that. When the afternoon waitress came in and Jake arrived, the two women parted, hardly speaking. Regina went home to get ready for her son to arrive and Emma went back to her parents, certain they would spend the evening gloating.

The next morning came quickly for both women. Regina dressed herself similarly to how she’d dressed all week, jeans and a button-up shirt. She pulled her heavy coat on and Emma met her at the door, a trench coat hugging her, keeping the warmth in. It was dark and Regina couldn’t see her well, but she’d never seen the blonde wear a coat that wasn’t leather or attached to some goofy hat.

Regina let Emma pass her, turning and locking the door behind them, then followed Emma to the office. Turning on the office light, Regina’s eyebrows raised when she took in what Emma was wearing. Pale legs were covered in nude pantyhose, legs ending with her feet in high black stilettos. Emma was wearing a black skirt that ended just above mid-thigh, and she was wearing a tight white button-up blouse, one too many buttons undone, and her blonde hair hung in heavy waves around her shoulders.

“Well, well, look at you.”

“Ruby said I should wear this.”

“Oh did she?’”

“Yeah… uh… but do I have to?” Emma shifted, looking uncomfortable in the outfit that looked so much like the ones Ruby often wore.

“Yes, yes I think you do. You’re already here, it would be silly for you to return home to change. Let me ask you a question: do you think I woke up Monday hoping that my week would be like this? That it would be spent working nine hour shifts everyday cooking in a kitchen that isn’t my own and serving people like Leroy all week?” Regina answered, stepping past Emma to hang up her expensive Chanel bag.

“Okay, I get it, it was my idea both times. But this outfit… it’s cute when Ruby wears them, I just look… out of place!” she exclaimed. Regina couldn’t help but glance Emma up and down, taking in the curves of the woman’s body, blonde mane to black heels.

“You look just fine to me, dear. Now, stop fretting and deal with it. Gods know I have to!”  
It would be a very long two days.

Regina would admit to no one that she thoroughly enjoyed the view of Emma waiting tables in the outfit she was wearing, but the blonde certainly looked uncomfortable, and more than one person was hitting on her, though they all should have known better. After the first rush, Regina waved a hand over Emma, lengthening her skirt, making her heels shorter and her hair was tied back into a ponytail.

“That looks much more like you,” Regina smirked.

“You could have done that hours ago!”

“And miss out on the joy of watching you squirm? I don’t think so.”

Snow and David came for lunch, both of them smiling to each other as they watched Emma and Regina tease each other behind the counter. Regina poured herself a coffee and directed Emma to go wait on her parents.

“You two seem to be getting along better,” Snow said, almost cooing at Emma. All she ever wanted was for her family to be happy, and now it seemed like they all could.

“Does that mean you finally told her that you love her?”

“Mom!” Emma cried, looking at David with a half cringing look and hoping he’d scope out Regina and see if she’d heard. He nodded slightly and she sighed, turning around and seeing that Regina was no longer there. “Snow…” she groaned, setting down her pad of ticket paper and heading to the back office. She heard David mention to Snow that she needed to stop saying things about other peoples’ love lives without thinking. When Emma entered the office, she saw Regina leaning against the only bare wall, one arm folded across her chest, her free elbow propped on her hand and she had the knuckle of her thumb pressed to her lips in thought.

“Regina…” she started softly.

“No.”

“Come on, Regina, talk to me. Let me explain?”

“How long?”

“I… well, I guess I just really realized it yesterday. Both dad and mom knew, apparently. And Ruby. Even Hook knew…” she answered awkwardly, letting her sentence trail off.

Pushing herself off the wall, Regina dropped both hands in frustration. “Does the entire town know? Besides me, I mean?”

“Uh… well, you know now, right?”

“Emma.”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know I was so obvious. I didn’t know that I felt that way, or I was denying it. But I promise I didn’t know Marian was Robin’s wife. The whole _them_ thing wasn’t intentional, I would never hurt you, not on purpose.”

“Emma, shut up.”

“What?” Emma asked, her voice half a whisper in her surprise.

“Kiss me.”

“What?”

“Stop standing there, looking like you can’t manage a single thought, and prove it.”

Grinning, Emma bit her lip and stepped forward, taking Regina’s face into her hands. She lowered her lips to Regina’s, the heels giving her some extra height. When their lips touched, she moaned. Nothing more happened for that moment, just a soft, slow kiss, but Regina’s lips were magical, they were full and warm and tasted like coffee with a touch of sugar. Emma felt Regina’s hands move to cup her elbows, and she took that as a sign that the brunette was enjoying the kiss as much as she did, so she slid her tongue out, running it along the seam of Regina’s lips.

Parting her mouth, Regina let her tongue slide out to meet Emma’s. Their tongues moved together both hesitantly at first, but they soon grew eager, and Regina’s arms moved to pull Emma closer at the waist. The blonde slowed the kiss, ending it with a peck on Regina’s mouth.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that,” Regina whispered.

“No, I don’t. Not really. But it was…”

“Yes.”

Emma smoothed her palm over Regina’s cheek and down her neck, pressing another chaste kiss to her lips. “No scruff. I have to say that’s pretty nice.”

Chuckling, Regina smiled and moved one hand to cup the back of Emma’s neck, pulling her down for another kiss. This one wasn’t as soft or gently, it was eager and greedy. Both women wanted more, wanted to kiss deeper and longer than time would allow. When David knocked hard on the door of the office, the women jerked apart, and he pushed the door open. He could tell quickly that they weren’t in there arguing, Regina’s lipstick was smudged off her lips and Emma’s lips were tinted dark red.

“Uh… people are coming in and I’m not really equipped to help, other than pouring coffee,” he said in an apologetic voice.

“No dear, it’s quite alright, thank you,” Regina answered. “We’ll be right out.”

He ran his fingers over his lips, suggesting that they check theirs. David then left, chuckling as he made his way to his wife.

 

After they made it through the rest of the morning shift, Regina and Emma flirted constantly, both of them finding any reason to smile at the other. When the were alone in the office once more, gathering their things, Emma caught Regina’s hand and brought it up to drop a kiss on the back of it, making tan cheeks flush slightly.

“I want to take you on a date.”

“Do you?” Regina teased.

“How about tonight?”

“I can’t.”

“Oh. No?”

“Sorry, the dating book I read before Robin says not to accept a date without three days notice,” Regina said seriously. Emma looked at her with furrowed eyebrows and looked as though she was going to argue. “Actually, the real reason is that I have a pretty awesome date with our son to finish up setting his new room together.”

“Ah, well, I suppose I’ll accept that as a reason.”

“You could come help.”

“I don’t want to butt in on your time with Henry.”

“I’m inviting you. I’m sure he’d love for you to be there and I’m not so opposed to it.”

“Oh, wow, what an offer!” Emma joked.

“We’re ordering Chinese food, and we’ll finish his room and he’ll be so excited to organize his comics, so we’ll probably have some time to talk.”

“Talk?”

“You know… get to know each other,” Regina answered, grinning.

“I think we know plenty. I could think of something we could do to pass time, though.” Regina shook her head and smiled.

“Are you going to come over then?” she asked, and Emma nodded.

Henry was surprised to see both of his moms when he got to the mansion, but Regina explained that Emma was there to help with the rest of the heavy lifting. The three finished setting up his room, and Regina had finally relented to putting an extra TV and his game systems in his room, under the final word that he wouldn’t spend all of his time in there, nor would he be up all night playing them. The three of them played a shooter game, though Regina couldn’t name which one, and she and Henry destroyed Emma on it.

When their food arrived, they all ate at the dining room table, Emma to Regina’s left, Henry to her right. She couldn’t stop smiling at how happy she felt. It was new with Emma, sure, but not really. They’d had years of building up to this, and it was satisfying to finally get there. She looked at the two people sitting with her and couldn’t help but feel like this was her family, this was finally her family.

Late that night, hours after Henry had retired to his room and only mere moments after Emma had left, Regina pushed open Henry’s bedroom door to check on him. He was still up playing his video game.

“Hey, I thought I told you that you couldn’t be up all night playing that.”

“I don’t have school tomorrow. Besides… you shouldn’t be up all night making out with Ma.”

“Henry!” she scolded, her face burning and she tried to hide her smirk, but he paused his game and turned to look at her.

“Seriously, though, it’s about time.” Regina shook her head and said good night, advising him not to stay up much longer. When she slid into bed that night, she fell asleep quickly and slept better than she had in a long time, even if it was still too short, because she’d have to get up to run the diner again. But for once, she felt herself sleeping well, happy for how the next day would pass, instead of dreading it.


End file.
